Arrival day – Part 2 – Sophie’s Experience

7AM, there we go! After gathering all of our things, we ordered an uber to get to the harbor. There, a huge messy street, with on one side a market and on the other all the boats. After buying a big cake to survive the 5-hours-boat-trip, we decided to lay in Hammocks. (Yes, they hang hammocks on the boat! Quite a good idea uh?). Then our long but beautiful boat ride started on Rio Negro on board of this crazy typical boat. There were people from diverse communities on the boat that came to Manaus for buying groceries. Then they leave the big boat to take a small one in order to get their groceries home. All the kids were running to the boat when it came to one community. It was lovely! They were happy to see their loved ones again and were excited about the new stuff they brought. More or less typical, all the communities seemed different, but more and more interesting.
Finally, we arrived, and were welcome by Abilio, the husband of Miriam, the responsible for the tourism inside the community. Such a warm welcome! He was very happy to see us, and we felt instantly that they were going to take great care of us. He took us on a tour to get to know the community and introduced us to many of its members. The atmosphere was great and the place beautiful. Lost in the middle of the forest, surrounded by the river. We had a first idea of what their lifestyle looks like by seeing their houses: simple wooden “cabanas”, their medicinal plantation, the small school, and the “farinha” (manioc grain) production factory. Very interesting and different from what I have ever experienced. Finally, we arrived in our home: a wooden cabana with two room, one with a bed and one with two hammocks. Then… first meal! Homemade food, very typical, simple (veggie, fish and rice) and really tasty. Just fresh and with the right spices. After this tiring day, we decided to sleep early, the head full of dreams about what will happen next!